Doodlebugs

I was asked for information about a picture taken in Tallahassee
during the administration of Governor Fred Sholtz (1933-1937). The
picture shows a doodlebug with a group of state officials- mostly
Supreme Court justices- standing in front of a doodlebug. Naturally,
the group obscures any number the car carries, and there is no road
name discernible on the letterboard.

When the lady who wanted the info contacted me by phone, I assumed
that it might have been a system tour of a brand-new 2028 or its
sister in 1936. Well, it isn't. This car has only three windows in
front, with a single trumpet horn positioned in front of the unit's
left front window. The unit appears to have been passenger unit only,
unlike the 2028. Its color appears fairly light, with two dark bands
on the belt-rail.

I've scanned the picture (which is a copy of the print) and will send
it to anyone who'd like a look. I've defaced it by adding names of the
dignitaries: if anyone knows who anyone else is in the picture, those
names would be appreciated, too. There are several men on the unit
itself: some in the doorway and others visible through the windows.

I figure it was a tour by the car for some reason. Did a doodlebug run
from Tallahassee south to Carrabelle or north to Richland, Georgia? (I
don't have any SAL timetables from this era.) Is this a picture of a
ceremonial commencement of such service? Why are Supreme Court
Justices so heavily represented?

Answers

Regarding the demise of the Tallahassee Flyer...
On April 3 I gave the date of the disappearance of the Tampa service
run by the Seaboard motor car- at least, the disappearance from the
thumbnail schedule in the Times-Union. Today I looked for the date
when the Tallahassee Flyer vanished. The Flyer terminated at River
Junction and it left sometime after 8 AM and returned between 8 and 9
at night. On Tuesday, October 1, 1939, the paper showed a schedule
thus: Arrive 8:30 pm Talla.-River Jct. Depart 8:35 am. The next day
the times were the same, but River Junction was gone- the destination
was simply Tallahassee. Eight-and-a-half months later, on Monday, July
15, 1940, the Times-Union showed this schedule: Arrive 8:30 pm
Tallahassee Depart 8:55 am. And the next day- nothing on that
schedule. Assuming the SAL was reluctant to put on a locomotive and a
couple of cars on a daily schedule to Tallahassee more than a few
times to cover an out-of-service car, I think it can be safely said
that the motor car put in a bit over four and a half years before
being withdrawn.
As to the Why? I don't know- neither the Times-Union nor the rival
Journal had anything to say. If the Seaboard made an announcement
about the ending of the service, it did not rate a mention in the
paper; there was more important and interesting news from Europe at
t

Joe-I agree-I never saw a photo of either the Tampa or the River
junction run. I may have seen one photo of a unit somewhere in NC,
but never one in Fla.

As for the reliability, AC&F itself admitted that the cars were not
very reliable and did suffer from self induced engine fires. SAL did
sell one of the cars to the Aberdeen and Rockfish RR and another
wound up with the California and Western, where it ran as their
"Skunk".

AC&F followed up this design with the Motorailer, which it introduced
with much fanfare in 1940. Cars were bought by MP, IC and
Susquehanna. The IC returned its cars after one of them was hit by a
beer truck at Plato Center Ill. in 1942. The IC cars were then
rebuilt as straight cars and sold to Susquehanna, which ran them in
NYC-NJ commuter service until it purchased four RDC cars in 1950-51.
The IC cars were fancier, and were run as the "Miss Lou" and "Land
O'Corn". It was the "Can O'Corn" (the name applied by the locals)
which was involved in the wreck, where the engineer was killed.
These units used a unique Waukesha engine, which unfortunately, also
had a peculiar tendancy to self immolate. Other problems were
centered in the transmission.

Finding when the Tallahassee Flyer went into service proved a fairly
easy task, but determine when it was withdrawn is going to be a bit
more difficult, but not totally impossible. The Why may need a bit
more.

The Florida Times-Union published a thumbnail timetable of arrivals
and departures daily until well into the Sixties. By skimming every
few months after the inauguration of the motor cars' introductions on
the River Junction and Tampa routes, I find that the Tampa train was
removed from the schedule on Sunday, February 27, 1938. The River
Junction train is still shown. I have not had time to pursue it
further, but my curiosity is aroused.

(This also shows that these cars were probably more reliable than we
think. After all, the early doodlebugs of pre-World War I vintage were
built in an era when internal combustion was still temperamental and
experimental; by the Thirties the technology was pretty sophisticated,
and think how many remained in service for decades.)

I checked the paper for a few days before the withdrawal of the Tampa
train, and could find no story about it. The Jacksonville Journal, an
afternoon paper often more critical of rail service than the ACL-owned
Times-Union, may have information about it. It's on my list of things
to do.

If someone has access to SAL public timetables of the era, it is
possible that information about the trains could be gleaned therefrom-
assuming the equipment for these trains was listed as air-conditioned
motor cars- and there's no reason why they shouldn't have made notice
of this fact! The timetable in the paper only listed trains by
arrival, departure, and destination, not by name or number. I don't
even know the number of the Tallahassee Flyer! It would also tell us
something about the Richmond-Raleigh train, about which I know
nothing.

The Flyer, by the way, was accompanied by two trains on the
Jacksonville-New Orleans run. The Times Union schedule showed this on
August 1, 1936:

Larry-Thanks for the information. I would like to ask you if you were
able to make copies of the articles and if so, can you send me a copy
for my records. I can make copies of the information I have on these
cars in my various books-so far I have about three sources-will find
more. also-I need a snail mail address!

Joe-Now don't go giving away secrets here!

Of course, this brings up several interesting points.
1. What were the terms of the SAL/L&N runthrough agreement on trains
such as the Gulf Wind and the locals?
2. I guessed that the reason the L&N did not let the SAL railcar
through to Chattahoochee was that it was a lightweight gasoline car-
thus a fire hazard. Now, the L&N did have one gas powered car, as
Larry Goolsby quickly reminded me, but it ran in Kentucky/Tennessee.
Was it an issue of liability? Or did great uncle Coast Line apply
some subtle pressure to zing SAL? Or-was the car too light to
reliably shunt track circuits on L&N? Single car RDC units had that
problem, which was compounded by their use of disc brakes. this
resulted in some build up on the wheels which combined with the
lightweight RDC's, resulted in uncertain circuit shunting and a
requirement on most roads that single car RDC units operate under
absolute block conditions.

Thanks to Michael W. Savchak (Savchak @MNR.org) I had a starting point
for microfilm research on the doodlebug at Tallahassee. A photo sent
me by a lady who is with the Florida Supreme Court Historical Society
was the source of my originals question.

Michael said there were three cars, built by ACF at their Berwick
plant in late 1935. I had seen photos of them somewhere but do not
have the book in my collection. I went to the public library and spent
a pleasant afternoon strolling through the microfilm of The Florida
Times-Union and the Jacksonville Journal. In less than a quarter-hour
I struck paydirt; the remainder of the afternoon was spent refining
it. Herewith the story:

On Wednesday, January 1, 1936, Jacksonville's Florida Times-Union
carried a story with this head: "Public Asked to See Flyer- Motor
Train of Seaboard on Display Tomorrow." The Seaboard would show its
newest motorcar, which had arrived New Year's Eve after a leisurely
trip from Richmond. Shopmen and North Florida division superintendent
Gordon L. Hurley were inspecting the car and preparing it for the
public display on Thursday. Much was made of its streamlined,
aluminum-sheathed body, roller bearings and rubber-insulated springs,
which, along with the air-conditioning, guaranteed a smooth, quiet and
comfortable ride. The aluminum shell was lined with aluminum foil and
hair felt to further reduce noise. It was powered by a six-cylinder,
overhead cam gasoline engine of over 700 cubic inch displacement. At
2,200 rpm, it developed 168 horsepower. It had seating for 38 white
and 19 colored passengers (in a separate section, of course) and a
small baggage compartment in the front. Overall, the car was 64 feet
one inch long; its width was nine feet and over-all height ten feet
three inches.

An ad in Friday's Time-Union showed a line cut of the car, numbered
2024. The public was invited to "Inspect the Latest in
Transportation!" The Streamlined, Air-Conditioned Motor Coach Train
sat on Track One at the Terminal from 9 AM to 9 PM, and about 10,000
people came to see it on Thursday, January 2, including Mayor John T.
Alsop and representatives from the Florida State Hotel Association.
Numerous Seaboard officials were on hand as well. Dubbed the
Tallahassee Flyer, it was to inaugurate a daily round trip between
Jacksonville and River Junction the following week. It was scheduled
to be exhibited at several locations on its three-day tour to the
western end of the Seaboard.

At 7:45 AM Friday, January 3, it started out with a full consist of
railroad officials and local dignitaries. Stops for inspection were
made at Lake City, Live Oak, Madison, Greenville, and Drifton. At its
arrival in Tallahassee it was met by a crowd of State officers,
including several justices of the Supreme Court, State Railroad
commission chairman W. B. Douglass, and governor Fred Sholtz and his
wife, who christened the train with a bottle of wine. It was open to
the public Saturday; Sunday it was viewed by more in Quincy and River
Junction. It began regular service that afternoon with a 4:00 PM
departure for Jacksonville. Monday, January 6, it left Jacksonville at
8:05 AM on the first daily round trip.

After leaving Jacksonville, the schedule called for stops at Lake
City, 9:20 AM; Liver Oak, 9:50 AM; Madison, 10:24 AM; Greenville,
10:42 AM; Drifton, 11:02 AM; Tallahassee, 11:40 AM; Quincy, 12 :17 PM;
arriving at River Junction, 12:45 PM. Eastbound, the Flyer left River
Junction at 4:00 PM; Quincy, 4:29 PM; Tallahassee, 5:10 PM; Drifton,
5:47 PM; Greenville, 6:07 PM; Madison, 6:268 PM; Live Oak, 7:10 PM;
Lake City, 7:40 PM; arriving in Jacksonville at 9:10, which allowed
for connections to South Florida points and late-night trains to the
North and Midwest. A few weeks later, conditional stops were added at
Macclenny, Wellborn, Lee, Aucilla, Lloyd and Midway. 207 miles in four
hours forty minutes westbound and five hours ten minutes eastbound:
twenty years later the Gulf Wind took still four hours and thirty-five
minutes between those points. Don't even ask about #36-37 the
Passenger, Mail & Express! (I don't have an Amtrak schedule handy...)

Several Tallahassee civic groups immediately voted resolutions of
gratitude to the Seaboard for the improved service, something they had
been requesting for some time. In the summer of 1935, President and
receiver Leigh Powell had visited the state capital and promised that
something would be done.

The Seaboard ordered three cars. Another was put in service between
Richmond and Raleigh. The third arrived in Jacksonville a week later.
On January 14th and 15th, the railroad ran another ad, similar to the
first, again inviting the public to inspect the car for the
Jacksonville-Tampa route. It would be displayed on the tracks at the
foot of Hogan Street in downtown from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM on Wednesday,
January 15. Following the all-day display in Jacksonville, it, too
would make a slow trip to Tampa, with exhibitions along the way.
George Z. Phillips, general passenger agent, gave the list: Thursday,
January 16, it would stop at Baldwin, Lawtey, Starke, Hampton, Waldo,
Hawthorne, Citra, Anthony, ending the day at Ocala. Most stops would
be for half an hour, although Baldwin got 90 minutes and the car would
remain open at Ocala from its 3:30 arrival until 9:00 PM. On Friday,
January 17, it would continue the tour, pausing at Belleview,
Summerfield, Oxford, Wildwood, Bushnell, Lacoochee, Dade City,
Zephyrhills, ending the day at Plant City, where it would remain open
from 4:45 until 7:45 that evening. On Saturday, January 18, it would
be open all day at Tampa; the next day it would begin its daily round
trips to Jacksonville. The 210 miles would be covered by a 7:50 AM
departure from Tampa, arriving in Jacksonville that afternoon at 1:20.
The return trip left Jacksonville at 3:30 PM and arrived in Tampa at
9:00 PM. The schedule was slightly slower than the "Tallahassee Flyer"
but there were more stops, too. The Tampa train apparently did not
rate a Flyer designation.

Students at Jacksonville's three white senior high schools were
invited to submit essays on the topic, "Why Should the Modern
Streamlined Motor Coaches of the Seaboard Air Line Railway Be a
Success?" The contest entries were judged by J. M. Elliott, business
manager of the Times-Union; James T. Daniel, manager of the Chamber of
Commerce; and T. W. Parsons, Seaboard's assistant general manager. The
$15 first prize was awarded to Louise Smith of Julia Landon High
School; the $10 second went to Robert Hopkins of Andrew Jackson High.
----

That's how they came to the Seaboard in Florida. Someone from Richmond
or Raleigh may be inspired to check those papers of the period and see
how the third Streamlined Motor Coach train was received. How they
came to be withdrawn,

OK-why River Junction and not Chattahoochee? L&N did not want the
presence of a gasoline powered railcar on its tracks. Already by
1936, gasoline cars were seen as fire hazards by some railroads and
banned them. PRR as an example, had 41 passengers die of fire when a
motor car had a headon collision with a steam locomotive at Cuyahoga
Falls, Ohio on July 31, 1940-that resulted in the PRR rebuilding its
gas cars with diesel engines. A similar accident on August 5, 1914 on
the Kansas City Southern resulted in 47 dead when a Missouri and
North Arkansas motor car with 105 gallons of gasoline collided with a
steam locomotive at 35 mph.

The photo was most probably taken in January or at the latest,
february 1936. the Seaboard introduced the railcar at that time for
service between Jacksonville-Tallahasee-River Jct.

W.E. Griffin Jr. 's book "Seaboard Air Line-Route of Courteous
Service" BK 15, has photos of these cars and is available from the
Society in the Publications for Sale section of this website.

These cars were delivered by American Car and Foundry, similar cars
were delivered to the Chicago and Eastern Illinois and Norfolk
Southern, and one or two other roads, as well as the U.S. Navy. They
were air conditioned, gasoline powered, but were not very reliable
and did not last very long.

The Seaboard did have three gas electric cars delivered in 1936 which
were among the first air conditioned units ever. They were built by
ACF at their Berwick plant under ACF order 1432. The cars were
numbered in the 2020 series nad did indeed have three front windows
and an airhorn-this was a "Strombos" model. Send me a scanned copy
and I will confirm this. The cars as delivered had two stripes under
the windows.